Does anyone have some tried and true techniques for keeping a cat off the kitchen counter? Please help, he just started doing this now that he's big enough to jump up.

growler~GateKeeper

January 22nd, 2008, 01:28 AM

My cats have actually been allowed on the counter - the kitchen in the house I used to live in the stove was not connected to the counter. Here in my apartment my cat doesn't jump on the counters cuz they are higher than the old house & she no longer feels the inclination - she's 16yrs old :D.

I've never had to use these but :shrug: some people say they work:

I think these should be first tried while you are home to ensure he doesn't hurt himself from the surprise of something on the counter & falling

You could try a can w/pennies in it tape the top shut - shake the can when he attempts a jump, when you are not home leave the can(s) on the edge of the counter, so if he tries he will knock them off & scare himself.

Lay a strip of tape sticky side up along the edge of the counter - they don't like stepping on it

Put boxes along the edge so it appears there is no room to jump - may lose interest

clm

January 22nd, 2008, 07:26 AM

Mine are allowed on the counters too. I decided a long time ago that it was too hard to try to keep them off. If I'm preparing food and they start to get jump up on the counter, I put them in another room until I'm done.

Cindy

sugarcatmom

January 22nd, 2008, 07:37 AM

Cats generally don't like walking on tinfoil so putting that on your counters for a while might help.

ancientgirl

January 22nd, 2008, 09:13 AM

When Vlad first started getting on the counter, I tried the sticky tape. Didn't work. I tried the aluminum foil. Didn't work either. I also tried the spray bottle, that worked while I was home, but I know that while I wasn't, he often got on the counter because I'd set little traps to see if he got up there.

I finally just gave up and allowed him up there, then Oksana got big enough so she too gets up there. I just have to wipe off the counter after they eat and I prepare food on a separate wooden board that they ARE NOT allowed to walk on. It's big enough to do my chopping, but not so big I can't wash it in the sick then put it back in the cabinets.

There is something called a Scat Mat, that gives off a jolt of what amounts to be close to static electricity when they get on it, and it's supposed to scare them off. I'd feel bad though doing that to them.

Love4himies

January 22nd, 2008, 09:26 AM

My cats very rarely jump up on the counter. Puddles was trained as a kitten and the only way was to put my hand in front of her face at counter level as she was going to jump, so the result was she jumped into my hand and couldn't get up. After a while she gave up, she doesn't like to exert too much energy.

Jasper and Sweet Pea were rescues as adults and came trained that way:D.

My foster kittens all 7 of them were untrainable and couldn't keep up with putting them down on the floor if there was meat on the counter or to do the hand trick. It was like an assembly line of kittens jumping from the stools onto the counter and me or my husband putting them back down on the floor. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Wish I had a video to show you, hilarious.

BAILEYSMUDGE

January 22nd, 2008, 12:07 PM

Well.... I'm the worst person to ask about keeping the cat off the counter :shrug:... Bailey won't jump if I'm there working at the counter... Smudge needs to know what I'm doing.. he follows me EVERYWHERE! The little tiny counterspace that I have is right next to the fridge... that's where they want to be... on top of the fridge... then they hang over the edge just so they can watch what I'm doing... :shrug: It's a good vantage point, I guess. I don't mind. I suppose you can warn me about sanitation... I suppose it's "sanitary verses sanity"... they keep me sane in this crazy world. :frustrated:

happycats

January 22nd, 2008, 07:12 PM

you could try keeping the counters wet. sprinkle counters liberally with black pepper . or 2 way tape.

Good luck . Out the 6 cats I had, only one I could not break of this habit, he is a cronic counter surfer ,but only when he thinks we're not looking:rolleyes:

danaekitty

January 23rd, 2008, 11:33 AM

I'm not sure I can help - both my girls are very good at keeping off the coffee table and counter. Spray bottles seem to do the trick when trying to stop a cat from anything. A sharp shout or a bang on the counter will also help. No idea what to do when you're not home though - all ideas above seem reasonable. I don't think I'd try the pepper, that might hurt them a little.

SARAH

January 23rd, 2008, 11:56 AM

Spoutnik II was an obedient "dog-cat" and would stay off because I told him to, no specific training involved.

However, with dogs in the house, the cats have to have a feeding station that is out of canine reach, so mine are on the counter for their own food. Once there ... well, they're all over :D

CearaQC

January 23rd, 2008, 12:10 PM

I do not allow cats on my kitchen counters at all. I find it unsanitary. Plus I don't like the idea of cleaning the counter to prepare for making fresh bread only to turn around and see a cat up there where I just cleaned, and get hair everywhere. I don't want pet hair in my food and neither does hubby.

I saw a video once on YouTube where someone was making fresh pasta and there was a cat right beside the dough. :eek: Be wary when eating at other people's homes. You never know what kind of sanitation they employ, if any.

Linx tried to jump up to kitty counter surf many times. I would wait and catch him in the act, clap my hands loud and tell him to get off. If that didn't work, I used a child's water pistol, which thankfully I only had to use once. Used the same method for making sure he didn't scratch the furniture.

It's important to mean what you ask and not just say the words. Your energy and intention has to match the command. Otherwise the cat/dog will just look at you like "yeah right" and not do what you ask.

All our pets are allowed to be in the kitchen, but better be away from the sink, the stove and the fridge. Hubby and I often cook together and when there are multiple animals in the kitchen as well, someone's bound to get stepped on, or might trip up a human. I make them either lay by the dinner table or near one of the doors. They can sit/lay by the table while we eat, but are not allowed to beg or paw at people.

babykitten

March 1st, 2008, 06:21 PM

i have 3 cats and they all go on the counters lol . i guess if ya don't want them on the counters set rules as they are little kittens . mine do what they please in this house lol :):cat::cat::cat:

gyrfalcon

March 2nd, 2008, 08:14 AM

are hard to "train," others aren't, just like people. My mother's cat was so shy, she never even dreamed of getting up on a counter or table. She was actually terrified by paper bags, didn't like getting in a cardboard box, ran away from open doors or windows, etc. She was no problem at all.

I have two 7mo kittens now, one of whom is very eager for my approval and so learned not to get up on the counter very early and hasn't done it in months. (He jumps onto my back instead, but that's another story.) The other one couldn't care less what I think and jumps up and saunters around right in front of me with complete aplomb. I literally have to shove her off-- often with an elbow because my hands are full of pie dough or meatloaf or something.

Friend of mine was very proud of the fact she'd trained her cats not to get on her kitchen counters and was fond of lecturing everybody else about how easy it was to do if you were just persistent about it.

Then one day her home was burgled through a kitchen window break-in. When the police came, they dusted the whole kitchen for fingerprints and found cat paw-prints all over the counters! lol!

So all she'd done was train them not to provoke her anger by getting up there when she was around. When she wasn't, they did as they pleased, which is true for all cats pretty much.

I've found one thing that does help is to make sure there's never, ever anything that might be interesting to cats left out on the counters or stove or sink when I'm not right there. I put pots and pans I haven't washed right away into the oven, the butter dish goes in the microwave, dishes with food residue in the dishwasher, meat wrappers rinsed with hot water immediately and put in the trashcan, etc.

One of my first cats found a piece of swordfish skin I'd left in the sink. He carried it out and was chased around the house by me and the other cat for quite a while, both of us trying to take it away from him. He was completely untrainable after that, no matter what I did. He just knew there was great stuff up there, although all he ever found after that to play with was a rubber glove. He took down and dragged it into the living room when we had some very prissy people over for tea, of course!

Shabby

March 2nd, 2008, 09:26 AM

are hard to "train," others aren't, just like people. My mother's cat was so shy, she never even dreamed of getting up on a counter or table. She was actually terrified by paper bags, didn't like getting in a cardboard box, ran away from open doors or windows, etc. She was no problem at all.

I have two 7mo kittens now, one of whom is very eager for my approval and so learned not to get up on the counter very early and hasn't done it in months. (He jumps onto my back instead, but that's another story.) The other one couldn't care less what I think and jumps up and saunters around right in front of me with complete aplomb. I literally have to shove her off-- often with an elbow because my hands are full of pie dough or meatloaf or something.

Friend of mine was very proud of the fact she'd trained her cats not to get on her kitchen counters and was fond of lecturing everybody else about how easy it was to do if you were just persistent about it.

Then one day her home was burgled through a kitchen window break-in. When the police came, they dusted the whole kitchen for fingerprints and found cat paw-prints all over the counters! lol!

So all she'd done was train them not to provoke her anger by getting up there when she was around. When she wasn't, they did as they pleased, which is true for all cats pretty much.

I've found one thing that does help is to make sure there's never, ever anything that might be interesting to cats left out on the counters or stove or sink when I'm not right there. I put pots and pans I haven't washed right away into the oven, the butter dish goes in the microwave, dishes with food residue in the dishwasher, meat wrappers rinsed with hot water immediately and put in the trashcan, etc.

One of my first cats found a piece of swordfish skin I'd left in the sink. He carried it out and was chased around the house by me and the other cat for quite a while, both of us trying to take it away from him. He was completely untrainable after that, no matter what I did. He just knew there was great stuff up there, although all he ever found after that to play with was a rubber glove. He took down and dragged it into the living room when we had some very prissy people over for tea, of course!

I have a friend with "5" cats who are indoor/outdoor kitties so she does NOT like them on the counter. She says cats don't like "orange peels". She peeled a number of oranges and left the peels all along the counter and as long as they're there, the cats won't jump up.

Who knows...maybe it'll work for you!:D

gyrfalcon

March 2nd, 2008, 10:18 AM

I have a friend with "5" cats who are indoor/outdoor kitties so she does NOT like them on the counter. She says cats don't like "orange peels". She peeled a number of oranges and left the peels all along the counter and as long as they're there, the cats won't jump up.

Who knows...maybe it'll work for you!:D

I'll give it a try. My cats aren't the least bothered by sticky tape (they play with it, and then lick it), and balancing noisy items like pie plates all along the edge of the counter just isn't practical at all.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Shabby

March 2nd, 2008, 10:28 AM

I'll give it a try. My cats aren't the least bothered by sticky tape (they play with it, and then lick it), and balancing noisy items like pie plates all along the edge of the counter just isn't practical at all.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I hope it works as well for you, as it did Kathy! Let us know. :thumbs up